The Rouge Study no. 82, Detroit, MI 1995
The Rouge Study no. 82, Detroit, MI 1995
Artist
Michael Kenna
(British, born 1953)
Date1995
DimensionsOverall: 19 1/4 x 14 1/4 in. (489 x 362mm)
MediumGelatin silver print
ClassificationPhotographs
Credit LineFrederick B. and Kate L. Shoemaker Fund
Object number
2000.51
Not on View
DescriptionGelatin silver print, black and white with sepia toning, dry mounted to board. The artist himself printed this photograph. All images are printed in editions of 45 with 4 artist's proofs, numbered and signed by the artist.
Label Text“I think [my blue-collar background had] a very strong impact; for example, it gave me a certain empathy for industry and the working environment which is one reason why I am constantly drawn to photograph industrial situations.” –Michael Kenna This image is from a series of photographs that Michael Kenna made of the River Rouge Plant of the Ford Motor Company in Detroit, Michigan. Working over a period of one year, Kenna made numerous studies of the plant. Many of his images have a surrealistic or timeless quality. As empathetic as he is to blue-collar workers, Kenna’s photographs rarely include people: .“I find that the absence of people in my photographs helps to suggest a certain atmosphere of anticipation. I often allude to a theater stage set. There is anticipation of events about to happen, or perhaps events have already happened and we are reconstructing scenes in our imagination.”Published Referenceswebsite: http://www.michaelkenna.net/html/index2.html c.f. Lee R. Kollins, Michael Kenna, The Rouge (RAM Publications, 1997) c.f. Michael Kenna: a twenty year retrospective (Tokyo: Treville, 1994)Exhibition HistoryTMA New Acquisitions in Graphic Arts, Dec. 21, 2001-March 30, 2002.
Toledo Museum of Art, Refraction/Reflection, April 20-September 2, 2012.
TMA, The City, November 6, 2015-February 14, 2016.
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